Citrus, Herbs, And Spices: Why You Should Leave These Boiling In Your Kitchen This Summer

Simmer pots are for more than just your favorite fall flavors. In fact, you can make different combinations of herbs, fruits, and spices that best reflect the vibe of each season. All it takes is adding your choice of herbs, spices, and citrus fruits to a pot of boiling water and reducing this to a low simmer for a few hours to release the scent, adding water every 30 minutes to an hour if needed. It's also a great way to use up leftover lemon peels that are starting to dry. If you have an overgrowth of fresh herbs in your garden, this will also put them to excellent use.

To keep your home filled with the scents of the season, try making a summer simmer pot on the stovetop. Take a cue from a summer simmer pot recipe shared by @kate_cleanhome on Instagram and start with a basic, summery mix. Simply slice up citrus fruits including grapefruit, orange, and lemon and combine these with flowers from your own garden or store-bought versions,  including rose petals, gomphrena, and chrysanthemums, spicy cinnamon sticks, and a splash of vanilla extract. The possibilities are practically limitless.

A stovetop simmer pot is a great natural air freshener that you can customize with your preferences of herbs, spices, and citrus instead of a store-bought room spray. If you've been preparing a seasonal seafood boil, for example, it also allows you to use spices to help remove fish smells from the kitchen. Further, it's a low-effort way to bring more seasonal ambience to your summer soirees.

On Instagram, @my_styled_living shared, "I love making this right before guests come over because it fills the entire house with the most amazing fresh, clean, citrusy scent." The recipe calls for citrus grapefruit, lemon, vanilla extract, and herbs and spices, including fresh thyme and black peppercorns. Another Instagram Reel shared by @alohalexia shows off a simmer pot reminiscent of a summertime strawberry lemonade, with lemons, grapefruit, strawberries, and rosemary.

It's always a good idea to exercise extreme caution around hot liquids. Take care when cutting up your herbs and citrus fruits, and make sure to turn the stove off and let the liquids fully cool after simmering before handling further. Once you've strained it, you can reserve and store the liquid in your fridge to reuse later. You can also bottle it to use as a fragrant and natural room spray.